


Sleeping Sickness

by JesusCheese



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cameos, Choi Beomgyu-Centric, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, I Don't Even Know, Injury, Medical, Prompt Fic, Protective Kang Taehyun, Seizures, Sickfic, Trauma, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:08:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23508145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JesusCheese/pseuds/JesusCheese
Summary: Choi Beomgyu really, really should've seen a doctor earlier.
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu/Everyone, Everyone/Everyone
Comments: 10
Kudos: 243





	Sleeping Sickness

**Author's Note:**

> Been real bored with no school, and all, so I forced myself to write. This is the product of that. Angst prompt list gave me a few ideas, a list of infectious diseases provided by the CDC gave me a few more. Hope you enjoy this bit of fluffy angst :)
> 
> Title from Sleeping Sickness - cityandcolour  
> ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-Xfv64uhMI )

It had been an incredibly long tour. Beomgyu, for the most part, had spent it sleeping, He tried not to waste his time in bed, but he’d just been so incredibly tired the entire trip. Any time he was in one place for more than a few minutes, he would end up dozing off. 

“Beomgyu- yah,” Soobin called, shaking his leg with his hand. “Come on, we’re here.”

He hummed, stretching and wincing as it sent a twinge up his back. He rubbed his jaw. The muscles there were tight. He grimaced once more, climbing out of the car and into the light of Chicago.

“How long are we here again?” Kai asked, peeking into a journal that he used for traveling. He was trying to fit as many activities as possible into every city.

“Today, performance tomorrow, two more days to sightsee,” Yeonjun informed, zipping his backpack and slipping it on, arm around Taehyun’s shoulder.

“Wow, four days!” the maknae cheered excitedly. “Hyung, think of all the things we can do! There’s the bean, the pier, the- ooh, the deep dish pizza!”

Beomgyu nodded, humming. “Yeah.” It hurt to speak and swallow. He must be coming down with something. None of the members seemed to notice, more focused on crossing the street toward the hotel. It just so happened that their hotel stay would be overlapping with BTS’s own, both on individual tours. 

Beomgyu felt guilty that he was jealous of BTS’s tour. They would be heading home the next day. His group’s departure was set for three four days from then. It was hard to enjoy it all when he felt so under the weather.

“Gyu, how’s your knee?”

Beomgyu glanced down at his knee, a scab covering the scrape he’d gotten a few cities back. He shrugged. “I-” he cleared his throat, rubbing the muscles on his jaw. “...’s healing.”

“Are you alright?”

“Tired,” he answered with a yawn. His wide open mouth made his jaw click uncomfortably. He really just wanted to go to his room and sleep off whatever was happening.

“We can all sleep when we get to the hotel, though I’m sure Kai will be dying to get into the swimming pool. I’m telling you, that kid has too much energy for his own good.”

“For your good, you mean,” Beomgyu teased softly, leaning on the leader’s shoulder as they walked.

“For everybody’s good,” Soobin smiled, ruffling his hair. “I’ll make sure he rests, though. Everybody should be at their best for the show tomorrow.”

“Hyung! Can we go see BTS hyungs while we’re both here? Please?” Kai’s voice hurt Beomgyu’s sensitive ears. He was pretty sure he’d be near dead tomorrow with the performance on top of his sickness.

“I don’t know, why don’t you find out where they are and ask them?”

“That’s a great idea!” Kai agreed. “Thanks!”

“This kid,” Soobin smiled warmly. Beomgyu let himself be led to a room that he could only assume was his. Soobin set his stuff on the other bed, and it wasn’t hard to hear the other three through the wall. At least they were all close this time. At that last hotel, they had only managed to get rooms five floors apart from each other. The members’ habit of not answering their phones had Beomgyu climbing the stairs many, many times.

Soobin watched as Beomgyu kicked off his shoes, dropped his bags, and laid down, pillow over his face. That...was weird. He’d just been sleeping in the car for about thirty minutes, and he hadn’t slept too poorly the night before. At least he thought he hadn’t.

“Beommie,” he called, toeing off his shoes and shuffling over. He slid his fingers under the pillow to feel along the back of his neck. He did feel a bit warm. “Aish, getting sick so close to the concert? It’s like you’re trying to skip it.”

Beomgyu only grunted a bit, so tired that he couldn’t formulate any other response.

“I’ll wake you up in a little bit, okay? Sleep for now and try to get your strength back.”

He held up an ‘ok’ sign with his fingers and immediately stopped trying to stay awake, head falling to the side and consciousness leaving him. It felt so nice to sleep after feeling completely drained the whole flight.

…

“Beomgyu-ah, wake up.”

He grunted, reaching up and pushing the pillow off his face. His neck hurt a lot now. He was sure sleeping with his head turned didn’t help the stiffness, but he should at least be able to move it to look at whoever was waking him up. He felt long fingers on his forehead. Soobin.

“Yah, look at me Gyu.”

“My neck hurts,” he whined. “I can’t move.”

His leader’s eyes poked into his vision, eyebrows knit in concern. “You can’t move? Do you want me to help you?”

He tried nodding but even that hurt. “Yeah…”

The elder slid a hand under the back of his head and one behind his shoulder, pushing until he was sitting up, leaning against Soobin’s chest. It was like moving a baby. He sighed contentedly. His neck did feel better with support. “I think I just need a muscle relaxer. It’s probably a wicked cramp.”

“Have you been drinking enough water? Does your jaw hurt? You’re barely moving it to speak.”

“Yes and yes...Do you have any medicine?”

“Yeonjun’s probably got some. Let me call him.”

It took all of two minutes for a knock to sound on their door. “It’s open!” Soobin called, not really wanting to leave Beomgyu, who had nearly fallen asleep once more in his warm embrace. The leader was still supporting his neck, holding it forward so it didn’t flop about. 

Yeonjun walked in, rattling the pills. “Muscle relaxers?”

“Ahh, I knew you’d have some!”

“Yeah, for my bad back…” the eldest responded suspiciously. “Why do you need them?”

“Beomgyu’s got a crazy stiff neck and a bit of a heat to him. Muscle relaxers, sleep, and a fever reducer should keep him going, right?”

“Theoretically, yeah. What’s up with your neck, Gyu?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged, wincing. “Probably shouldn’t...do that, though,” he chuckled a bit. “Can I just have the medicine.”

“Yeah, I’ll go get a glass of water. When you’re ready, BTS hyungs are in our room to hang out for dinner. They’re leaving first thing in the morning tomorrow.” Yeonjun walked into the bathroom. They heard the brief running of a tap before he returned with a cup and two pills in his hand. He handed them to Beomgyu, who popped them quickly.

The only problem was that he couldn’t swallow the water he poured in to chase them. He tried- he really did. When Soobin noticed, he raised him higher up, hoping that gravity would do the trick. The second youngest forced himself to swallow, the pain rocketing throughout his whole head. God, his body really had chosen the worst time to get a sore throat. 

“Are you alright? Did you swallow them?” Soobin asked, laying a hand on his leg and sitting on the edge of the bed. Beomgyu nodded a bit. “Are you feeling up to dinner with the hyungs?”

“Yeah, for a little bit,” he answered, forcing himself to move on his own. He pushed off the bed and into a pair of slippers. “I’m sure they’ll forgive my attire.”

“They aren’t dressed much better than you are,” Yeonjun assured him. “You don’t have to stay for a long time. If you need to leave, let one of us know and we’ll make an excuse for you.”

“Thank you, hyung. I feel a little bit better, though. I’ll be alright.”

“Hey, wait,” Soobin caught his arm, stopping him. “You do know that we live in the same apartment complex and that we train in the same building, right? It’s not like you’ll never see them again. You don’t have to go.”

The youngest in the room sighed. “I’m fine. The medicine should help.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” the leader asked seriously.

“Hyung. I. Am. Fine.”

Soobin nodded, releasing him. “Just head back to the room if you need to, okay? No pressure.”

They walked into the other room together, greeting their hyungs happily and gorging themselves on the pizza that Kai had insisted on. Beomgyu didn’t eat much, the chewing making his jaw pop uncomfortably. He’d only been there for about an hour when his head started to slip, eyes closing gently each time. His neck would protest the fast movements when he snapped his head back up to pay attention.

He really just wanted a bed.

“Somebody’s tired,” Jimin cooed. Beomgyu had the sinking feeling that it was directed at him. He opened one eye, smiling through the embarrassment when he realized that everyone was looking at him.

“Sorry,” he murmured. “Jetlag.”

“Sucks,” Yoongi said sympathetically. “You guys should all get some sleep. We’ve only got a flight tomorrow; you have an entire concert.”

“We wanted to hang out before you had to leave,” Kai pouted. 

“It’s nearly two in the morning,” Jin said, rolling his eyes. “We should get going as well. Lord knows I already have enough trouble getting everyone up in the morning. I’m sure Yeonjun and Soobin know the struggle.”

They nodded knowingly, standing to see their hyungs out of the room. “We’ll see you guys back in Korea, then?”

“Of course, we should meet for a meal to talk,” Namjoon proposed. “Make sure to text the group chat often!”

“Bye!” the rest of them called out. The door closed softly and Beomgyu let his head fall into his hands. 

“Do you still feel bad?”

He nodded, sucking in a breath at his stiff neck. “Ouch.”

“Let’s get you to bed,” Soobin worried, helping him up. “You can sleep with a neck support pillow. Maybe that’ll help.”

“I’m willing to try it,” the younger breathed, standing. “This sucks.”

“Aww, hope you’re feeling better tomorrow, hyung!” Taehyun offered, giving him a small pat as he left. Beomgyu didn’t even have the energy to respond, wanting just to fall into his bed. Much to his disappointment, Soobin insisted on a bath and warm pajamas. He physically blocked him from the bed and even brushed out his hair as he sat on a stool, dressed in pajamas and leaning to the side as he dozed. He had to admit, it did feel good.

The next thing he knew, he woke up to Soobin’s alarm, sleeping with his airplane pillow surrounding his neck and keeping him from moving too much. It was nicer than having it stuck completely to the side.

“Hey,” Soobin called, voice rough from sleep. Beomgyu glanced over, not moving his neck in fear of potential pain. “Are you feeling okay today?”

He groaned, stretching his arms and placing them under himself, pushing into a sitting position and hiding his wince as his head tipped back. Tight. Painful. He probably pulled a muscle, but he wouldn’t let that stop him from performing. He knew that if his members caught wind of it, they most certainly would stop him from doing just that. “A little, yeah. Not so stiff.”

“Good,” Soobin smiled, standing and shuffling to grab the muscle relaxers. “I’ll stick these in my bag if you need them today.”

“Thank you, hyung,” he responded, standing and ignoring the blinking silver dots. He felt feverish. A glance in the mirror told him that he probably was- rosy cheeks, pale skin, a slight sweat. He was going to have to be a top notch actor today. It was either that, or let down every fan in all of Chicago who’d paid to see their show.

…

As it turned out, it was easy enough to pretend to be fine when everybody around you wasn’t really...you know, focused on you. Beomgyu flew under the radar as they made adjustments to the performance, mic checked, and talked frantically about what they dreamed the night would be like. He even found himself doing the same, staring out at the seats as his neck protested. He grinned to himself- it looked like only the front few rows would be getting eye contact with him.

He had taken a few too many muscle relaxers- just to get his damn neck and jaw to budge without screaming in pain. He knew, logically, that the pain was something that he should get looked at by at least a member. He also knew that it didn’t have to happen right that very moment. He would wait until tomorrow to mention it if the pain was still there.

He didn’t need to cause a fuss during their night.

…

The performance was just as wonderful (and painful) as Beomgyu had thought it would be. Seeing his members smile filled his chest with warmth. It was nearly enough to eliminate the pain altogether. But not quite. No, it still hurt like a bitch.

He just hoped he was doing a good enough job at hiding it. He hoped the fans wouldn’t be too upset with his shortened speech at the end, or the fact that he didn’t bow nearly as low as the rest of the group. Taehyun squeezed his hand, offering him a smile. Beomgyu tried to send him one back. He wasn’t sure it worked.

…

“That was amazing, really,” their manager cheered, clapping them on their backs. “Hey, there’s a car just outside to take you to your hotel. The other staff and I are going out for drinks, so we’ll be back no later than five, alright?”

“A.M.?” Taehyun asked, dumbfounded. “You guys sure know how to party.”

Their manager chuckled. “I’m the driver, so no drinking for me. Call if you need anything, okay?”

“Yes, hyung,” they responded, bidding him goodbyes as they walked toward the exit. “Have fun tonight!” they called.

Beomgyu said nothing, walking with a slumped figure. “I am so drained,” he admitted, falling into the backseat. “I could sleep for years.”

“You still look sick,” Yeonjun noted, feeling his head. “Jesus, Gyu, what’s your temperature?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted, head falling back at an odd angle. He knew he probably wouldn’t be able to get it up again, but he didn’t care. He just felt so...so awful. “Pretty nasty flu, I’m guessing. I’ll be good in a day or two.” 

“At least you made it through the concert,” Kai noted. “Sleep well tonight and we’ll have lots of fun tomorrow, right?”

Beomgyu didn’t respond, already drifting off to sleep.

“Why don't we worry about tomorrow later,” Yeonjun suggested, leaning back on his own headrest. “For now, we just gotta make it to the hotel.”

…

Soobin was just about ready to click off his phone and get some much-needed shut eye. Before he could, he heard a whine from the other bed. Peering in the dark, he looked for any signs of distress in his roommate. Beomgyu hadn’t been feeling well, so who was Soobin to call himself a leader if he didn’t make sure he was at least resting comfortably.

“Beomgyu?” he whispered, turning his screen towards him and trying to illuminate his friend. The silence was punctuated with another whine. “Beomgyu, what’s wrong?” Soobin tried again, pushing off his covers and sitting. He clicked on the light by the bedside and studied the still lump on the bed.

Upon closer inspection, Soobin could see that he wasn’t still at all. The boy was trembling all over. “Beomgyu, wake up,” he called, shooting to his feet and laying hands on his friend. “Come on, tell me what’s wrong, Gyu. Wake up.”

Another whine, and Beomgyu’s eyes were wide open. Soobin went to touch his face, recoiling when his hand came into contact with something warm and wet. He'd thrown up on the bed, and Soobin hadn't noticed. He'd only realized something was wrong roughly thirty seconds ago. How long had he been laying there, softly crying out for help? “Beomgyu?”

“I...I’m sick, ‘ung,” he slurred, breathing harshly. Those sounds didn't sound right coming from their sunshine.

“I’d say,” Soobin agreed, trying to keep calm while ignoring the mess. It was more important to get Beomgyu upright, clean, and comfortable. He got a hand under his lower back and one under his neck, lifting just as gently as he'd done before. With Yeonjun's screwy back, Soobin had practice in guiding the injured into a sitting position. He had shushed the elder's hisses when the nerves shot fire down his legs. He'd massaged and applied cream and made empty promises that the pain would ease soon. 

In Soobin's limited experience as leader, he'd dealt with the pain of his members. 

He was not a doctor, but he knew this was not any old muscle strain. This was an entirely different monster, and of all people, Beomgyu had fallen victim. Soobin winced when the movement of simply being guided up caused a round of muffled whimpers from his little brother. He rarely showed others when he was hurt. Hell, Soobin didn’t think that he’d ever seen him cry, but the wetness leaking down his cheeks were certainly tears.

“I know, I’m sorry, baby,” he let slip the term of affection, half-carrying Beomgyu to Soobin’s own bed. “I’ll get a towel and help clean you up.” Really it was all that he could do. He needed somebody else.

He made quick work of it, too, wetting one of the hotel rags and wiping off Beomgyu’s face. “What hurts, Gyu? Tell hyung what hurts.” 

Beomgyu grunted, starting to talk but stopping just as fast. He pointed to his jaw in a panic, pushing into his skin.

“What is it? Is your jaw sore?” Beomgyu grunted again, sounding much more whiny and frantic than before. “Your jaw is locked,” Soobin realized, sitting beside him on the bed. “Don’t panic. I’ll rub the muscles and see if that helps, alright?” He gave him a quick massage, trying to knead the muscles to convince them to work properly. Eventually, Beomgyu opened his mouth again, gasping and groaning.

“Oh, Beommie, you really aren't feeling well, huh? What hurts now?”

“Everything,” the younger sobbed, wrapping his arms around his stomach and trying to curl up. That wouldn't solve any of their problems.

The elder frantically tried to push Beomgyu against the headboard. “No, no, stay sitting up, alright? It’ll help your breathing...What can I do, Beomgyu?" He knew he was starting to panic. He also knew that there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. "I don’t know how to help you right now. I don’t-”

“Please,” Beomgyu whimpered, clenching the bed sheets so hard that his knuckles turned white.

“Okay, I-I’m going to get Yeonjun. We need Yeonjun. I’ll be right back.”

“No,” Beomgyu called. “Please, ‘yung. ‘lease...pl-” 

Soobin watched in horror as Beomgyu's rapid chest halted, his skin paled a shade further than Soobin thought was possible. A choked sob escaped his chapped list, and Soobin just barely managed to catch him when he started tilting off the bed. His eyes flickered open at the jostling, but the person they belonged to was long gone. Unconsciousness was weird like that. It was true that Soobin had helped with injuries and been a crutch for any member who needed it, yes, but he'd never, ever seen one of them faint. He liked to attribute that just being a good leader- advocating for the members, asking for extra breaks when one of them was unwell, making sure that meals were never skipped.

With the dead weight of Beomgyu in his arms, Choi Soobin felt like just about the worst leader on the face of the earth. 

“No, no, no, wake up! Wake up!” He directed his attention to the clock, seeing that it was just after 3 in the morning. All of their staff was still out drinking. Essentially, they were stuck there. “Okay, don’t panic,” he reminded himself. “You’re fine, Beomgyu,” he assured his little brother. He pressed his fingers against his neck- his overly hot neck- and felt a pulse much too fast. How had he let it get this far, how had he let it get this far, how-

He needed a hospital. God, why didn’t Soobin notice sooner?

The leader pulled on a pair of sweats and slid his phone into his pocket, getting his arms under Beomgyu and hoisting the younger up, using his own arm to wrap Beomgyu’s around his neck. He got a hand under his thighs and held him tight, opening the door and making sure not to hit any part of himself or Beomgyu on the frame. It was the last thing that he needed.

“Yeonjun!” he yelled, pounding on the door with one arm and carrying Beomgyu with the other. “Yeonjun! Yeonjun! Open up now! Yeonjun!”

It was only a moment before the eldest opened the door, mouth open and ready to scold whoever was pounding on his door. The words died on his tongue when he saw the scene in front of him. “What the hell is this? What happened?”

Soobin was frantic, trembling and staring directly at where Beomgyu's dark brown eyes should've been staring back at him. All that he saw were lids. “He- he puked and his jaw locked up, then he just...passed out! Get some clothes on; he needs a hospital.”

“What about the other two?” Yeonjun asked, looking back into the room. If Soobin's past knowledge served him well, they were probably curled up- Kai around Taehyun- sleeping heavily. They didn't have time for that now.

“They’re coming too. Get ready now.” He readjusted his hold on Beomgyu, the dead weight giving his arm a run for its money. He was lucky that he'd been spending so much time in the gym lately. “You’re alright, Gyu,” he promised again. “We’re going to the hospital. You’ll be alright.” He heard commotion from inside the room, and soon enough, the three boys were coming out of the door, pulling on their shoes and jackets and looking with pity at the boy in their leader’s arms. He didn’t need their pity just then; he needed a damn hospital.

“What’s the plan?” Yeonjun asked, letting Soobin lead the way into the elevator.

“We get a taxi,” he responded, adjusting his grip again. “And we go to the hospital and we get him treated.”

“But our manager-”

“Is not nearly as important right now,” Soobin cut him off, marching off when the elevator reached the bottom floor. He ignored the receptionist’s concerned glance and hoped that one of the younger boys explained the situation. He just couldn’t be bothered.

“Taxi!” Yeonjun called, waving at every yellow car he saw. “Taxi!” Finally, one of them stopped, giving them the same curious look as the receptionist. Yeonjun pulled open the front door, piling in. “Hospital,” he told him in accented English. “He’s sick. Hospital, fast.”

“This cab is made for only four passengers,” the driver stated, though his concern was showing through. “If we get pulled over.”

“He’ll lay on the other boys,” Yeonjun assured him. “Please, fast.”

“Get in,” the driver allowed, waiting for the back door to close to step on the gas. Kai was sitting in the left seat and cradling Beomgyu’s head. Taehyun was in the middle, doing his best to keep from freaking out with his best friend passed out on his lap. Soobin was on the edge, knee bouncing and mind running with all of the sickness his dear brother could have.

He had a fever, stiff muscles, jaw pain, sweating, tiredness, headache...god, he should’ve known that it wasn’t a normal flu. He should’ve known.

“Is this hospital fine?” the driver asked, pointing to a large glowing building. 

“Any is great,” Yeonjun assured him, pulling his wallet from his pocket.

“Don’t worry about money. I barely drove you,” he denied the boy, pulling into the emergency drive and putting the car into park. Soobin was immediately opening the door, rounding the car to pull his friend out by his shoulders.

“Excuse me!” a nurse called. “This is an emergency vehicle entry. You can’t be parked-”

“Our friend is sick,” Soobin called, finally getting Beomgyu from Kai’s lap and tossing him over his shoulder as gently as he could. “Please, he is very sick. Help my friend.”

“Gourney!” the nurse called, retreating back into the building. Soobin quickly followed her, laying Beomgyu down on the first rolling bed they found, stumbling along behind them until they stopped, ripping open his shirt and placing wires on his chest. The machine immediately started beeping rapidly and the doctors spoke quickly back to one another.

“What is your friend’s name?”

“Choi Beomgyu,” Soobin informed them, wringing his hands nervously. “We are Korean singers.”

The nurse nodded, typing information onto a tablet before setting it on a small rolling table.

“What are his symptoms?” a man with a white jacket asked, looking to Soobin expectantly. It was at that moment that he realized he was alone. The other members had been directed off somewhere to wait, and he was alone.

“I- uhm...sick?” he tried. He couldn’t understand the foreign doctor. “He- uhm, vomit and hot head-”

“Fever?”

“Yes! Yes, fever,” he rattled off, trying to speak as quickly as he could in English. “And here-” he pointed to his jaw. “Not open, and neck...not move. Very tired and faint at hotel.”

“Can we get somebody who speaks Korean in here?” the doctor asked a nurse. “We need to get his history.” The woman nodded and moved off to fulfill the man’s instructions. “I think he might have tetanus, but we can’t be sure until-”

A groan was heard from the bed and Soobin rushed forward, nudging the medical progfessionals out of the way to hold his hand. “Beomgyu, you’re alright,” he assured him in their native language. “You’re in the hospital, and-” The younger man gasped, drool rolling down the side of his cheek. His back arched and came off the bed, neck straining and face turning red with effort. “Beomgyu!”

“Move out of the way please!’ 

Soobin was moved backwards as the doctors and nurses flitted around him, touching him and injecting him, wiping his face and sucking the drool out of his mouth. This wasn’t the flu, this wasn’t the flu, this wasn’t the flu-

“What’s your name?”

Soobin looked over at the question, sighing as his native tongue washed over him. “I’m Choi Soobin.”

“Are you related to Choi Beomgyu?”

“No, not by blood, no...Will he be alright? Please tell me he’ll be alright?”

“Come with me and I’ll have you give me a patient history.”

“But Beomgyu-”

“Is being taken care of. The doctor will diagnose him and prescribe treatment, but in order to do that, you need to tell me his family history, allergies, symptoms, everything. We can’t have that conversation in the middle of the emergency room.”

“He needs me!”

“What he needs is for you to get out of the way, Soobin. Come with me now, okay?”

And Soobin couldn’t object to that.

…

The four boys looked directly at the translator when the doctor finished talking. It was a whirlwind of half-understood words and medical jargon that they never would’ve understood even if they were fluent in English.

“In the emergency room, the doctor gave him medication to stop the convulsions and diagnosed him with tetanus. He’s currently on a rigorous regimen of antibiotics to combat the disease.”

“Tetanus?” Kai asked, confused. “No, we’ve all been vaccinated. Our company mandates the vaccinations, so there’s no way he has tetanus.”

“All of the symptoms point to tetanus. All vaccines have a margin of error, and unfortunately, your friend was part of a very small minority of patients who are vaccinated but still get the disease. We believe it’s from this cut on his knee, here.” he pointed to the small bandaid. “It wasn’t disinfected properly, so we’ve cleaned and dressed it once more.”

“I thought it was the flu,” Soobin sighed, tears building up. “This shouldn’t have happened.”

“That’s not how any of this works. You got him here when he needed it, and that saved his life. None of this is your fault.”

“Wh-when will he be out?” Yeonjun asked the doctor in English.

“I’d like to keep him overnight for observation. Then, he can be discharged with a prescription for antibiotics and an order to take it easy for a few weeks. He’ll feel better very soon.”

The translator relayed the message.

“We should fly home,” Taehyun told Soobin. “He could heal better there.”

“No, we’ll stay here,” Soobin objected. “Call the manager and let him know what’s happened. We’ll leave on our flight at the same time. Beomgyu will be feeling better by then.”

“Is there anything else you boys need?” 

“Thank you,” they said to the doctor, each shaking his hand. “Thank you so much.”

“Of course.”

…

He awoke with a deep sigh, smiling slightly when he didn’t experience pain the instant he awoke. HIs sickness must’ve gone away.

“Beomgyu?”

“Yeah?” he responded, sleepily, opening his eyes to see the hotel roo- this wasn’t...why was he in the hospital? He whipped his head to the side, wincing at the twinge of pain it caused. “Taehyun, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, nothing,” his member tried to console him. “You’re just ill, that’s all.”

“Ill? Why am I in the hospital?”

“You passed out last night after puking all over yourself, that’s why. Drooling and mumbling and burning up a fever.” Taehyun sighed heavily, pushing himself to a standing position and pacing. “You had a damn seizure in the emergency room after Soobin carried you out of the hotel and we hitched a cab to the hospital. Did you know that? Do you know how fucking scary that is to hear that your best friend nearly died?”

“Taehyun-”

“Why didn’t you tell us that you were sick? God, I knew that being an idol would put our personal pain on the backburner, but we weren’t doing anything, Beomgyu! Our tour was over and you were in pain! You...you were hurt, and you didn’t tell anybody.”

“Taehyun, I’m sorry. Really, I-”

“You what?”

“I’m sorry. I thought it would go away on its own.”

Taehyun sunk into the seat, holding onto Beomgyu’s hand for dear life and letting a tear fall. “You don’t get to do that anymore, okay? You tell us when you’re hurt. Every time.”

“I will, Taehyun, I promise,” he spoke calmly, finding the situation was odd. Shouldn’t the patient be the one who was comforted? “Where are the others?”

“Out talking with the manager or getting snacks...you’re lucky it was me with you. The others would’ve been more of a mess than I was.”

Beomgyu’s breath hitched. “Are they...are they mad?”

“Nobody’s mad at you.”

“You are.”

“I am not! I’m just...upset with the situation, alright? I didn’t expect for this to happe-”

“You’re awake!”

“Easy, Hyuka...he just woke up.”

“Good to see you awake,” a man in a white coat addressed him in heavily accented Korean. He then spoke to another man, who smiled and nodded to him before turning to Beomgyu.

“He asked me to teach him that. You’re a tough kid, Beomgyu. How’re you feeling?”

“Better than before, that’s for sure.”

“That’s amazing news.” He smiled brightly. “Less amazing news- you’ve got quite a few hours of a whole lot of nothing coming your way. I’m sure you expected more from your travels to Chicago.”

“He will be just fine with sitting for a while, trust me,” Soobin interjected. “He’s not going anywhere.”

“Good to hear...People say there’s only one thing worse than illnesses, and that’s the sleeping sickness.”

“Sleeping sickness?” Yeonjun asked.

“Sick of sleeping,” the translator explained. “The infection of boredom.”

“If I had to sleep for hours on end, I’d get sick of it pretty quickly, too,” Beomgyu nodded.

“Oh trust me, you will.”

**Author's Note:**

> Not real happy with the ending, but hey, I couldn't just leave it, could I?  
> If you guys are as bored as I am, I hope that this helped even just a little bit. Comment if you'd like, don't if you don't. I'm a sucker for sickfics, and tetanus isn't one I've ever tried before. If any of you are doctors, I sincerely apologize for the copious amounts of medical blunders that are surely nestled into my story.  
> Hope you all enjoyed nonetheless!  
> Have a good day and stay safe, guys!


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